Madeira

Dear geocaching friends!It’s my objective to present my wonderful island of which lots of people say it’s a pearl in the Atlantic Ocean. Since a few years exists caches on Madeira but during the last years the number grew. Meanwhile the archipelago of Madeira offers more than 50 caches and an end is not foreseen.Contrary to the continent geocachers are mostly tourists. They don’t have enough time to search for caches in a relaxed way. A “Did not find” is always a disappointment. That’s why sometimes a spoiler photo too much than too less is shown in the cache description.I already said that cachers are tourists and therefore they plan round trips. Because of this I thought it's better not to present only one cache but a string of caches in which you can vary the order individually.OK; let’ go!

Area of Pico do Areeiro:Águas dos Tornos (GC17K6C) First stage on a hike to Pico do Areeiro! Of course it’s possible to return to Funchal, but not without having searched for:Hells Throat (GC17K5H) an excellent place to show you where Funchal gets its drinking water. After these caches the further ascent becomes a:Passeio Duro (GC1CHRE) what means a “hard walk” the real name is “Levada do Barreiro”. An old and traditional levada. Not one of these channels of concrete. When the weather is fine, you have breathtaking views.Poço da Neve (GC1BZGX) The penultimate stage before arriving Pico do Areeiro. A historical place of Madeira. In former decades during wintertime the snow was gathered in such containers to provide Funchal during summer time with ice.Nas Pedras (GC1P50R)A detour on your hike to Poço da Neve. A little bit to climb and a better view down to Funchal (as long as there’s no mist).Levada da Negra (GC1QWRZ) Also an old levada and silent. It was the way of the “ice runners” on their run down to Funchal with 40 kilo ice on their back to provide the hospital and bars with ice in summer time. Hardcore hikers return on this track back to Funchal and don’t take the car.Pico Areeiro (GC1DW8D) my preferred place in the morning sun rise or at evening sun set.

Area of Paúl da Serra and Rabaçal:Anita nas Montanhas (GC1KGMH) A nice and oldtraditioned levada. You can connect it with the Levada do Alecrim.Pico do Vento (GC1TZQ3) A silent stage on your hike without these hundreds of tourists. The “Lago do Vento” (lake of the wind) is my favourite place in this area.Rocha dos Louros (GCN0N8) A stop on your hike down to the “Levada das rochas vermelhas” where you find the:Casa dos Levadeiros (GC1JMK2) An old house of the “levadeiros” – the men who maintain the levadas. It’s still in use. In my opinion the “Levada das rochas vermelhas” is more interesting then the Levada de 25 Fontes (which is an ant trail).Stairway to Heaven (GC1JMJ1) Stairs of natural stones without having any end. Hard to go but it’s worth.Bosque Mágico (GC1N166) A magic area with the oldest and bizarre trees of the island.

From Pico Ruívo to Encumeada Pass:Pico Ruívo (GC1DXZJ)the highest point of the island. The “poncha” (traditional drink on Madeira) in the refuge tastes very well. The beginning of your hike to the Encumeada pass.Pico do Jorge (GC1FG8H) A stage before your ascent to Pico do Jorge and your descent to:Escadas (GC1J6X0) Fore sure Madeira has a lot of stone stairs. But these ones are exceptional. At the arrival at the pass it’s also a bar with an excellent “poncha”.

One of the seldom caches at the coast line of Madeira. Dangerous because the track is slippery and you cannot go it when being high tides.OASIS (GC16F1A) most eastern point of the island. An ambience completely different to the rest of the island. There are also Earth Caches. Attention, the house at the end is not a bar, it’s a foresters’ house!

As viagens do Alexandre (GC1FNTX)A nice viewpoint above the city of Machico. It is the place where commander Zarco put his first step on the island. I know the young boy Alexandre. We had a lot of fun when he visited Madeira together with his father.Zona Velha (GC1B428)It’s a micro in the old centre of Funchal. It’s more or less impossible to take it without being seen. All waiters of the restaurants around this place are informed about the cache and they guard it. In case of problems, they will help you.

Of the most of these tracks I’ve got files in *.gpx format, which is compatible with lots of programs e.g. Google Earth, Garmin-MapsSource, KOMPASS etc. If you want some, don’t forget to tell me an e-mail-address where I can send such tracks and which track you need.When it’s one of my caches, the description is in English language. But on top of each description behind the link “Related webpage” you can download a pdf-file with the Portuguese description of all my caches.